Well, Here We Go
by Masked-Writer-In-Disguise
Summary: Well, its a new year... and exams are coming up, I've broken up with my girlfriend of three years... and I'm completely ready to start my New Year fresh. So far, so good. On Pause; sorry y'all. Pairing's not my usual... hard to write. Adopt? PM me.
1. Chapter 1

_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise:**__ Hello. This was written over the course of three or four interrupted hours of my day and it started out as a personal monologue( that's what the entire first paragraph is), and it morphed into a story. It was accidental, but my fingers took over. So, without further adieu, enjoy._

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own it, them. None of the characters are my own and I don't pretend to own them. I'm just borrowing them for a few._

_**Inspiration:**__ 10__th__ Grade-Joseph Weisberg_

_**Couples:**__ NaruSasu(hinted at), ShikaTema(hinted at), KankKiba(blatantly obvious) , NaruSaku(just kinda hinted at). _

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

_Well, Here We Go…_

_By: Masked-Writer-In-Disguise_

Well, it's a new year _(a 'year' year and not a school year)_ and exams are coming up, I've broken up with my girlfriend of three years_(I broke up with her at a party because I don't like it when people break up with you over a phone or note; that just screams 'I don't care enough about you to say this to your face')_, and I'm completely ready to start my New Year fresh. So far, so good. Basically, this new year still feels very much like the old year and the year before that and the year before that except that I'm single for the first time in those three years and there's a new set of numbers after the '20' of the beginning of the year. That's really about it.

There's that and the fact that, for once, I'm completely confused about who I am. I've always been straight because it was normal and that's what I was expected to be. Then I admitted that I had no problem with gay couples, but I wasn't gay myself. Now, I am questioning even that. At first, I passed it off as mild curiosity; I just wanted to know what it would be like to be with someone other than Sakura because she's he only one I'd ever been with. Next, I admitted to myself that I might be bi because a straight man does _not_ get off to other men jacking off. But then the girls started looking unappealing and ugly and too soft, too sensitive, too gentle.

That's where I am now, walking into school on the first day back in a new year with my confusing and completely real thoughts. Sure, I was the same confident Naruto that everybody knew, all smiles and clumsy gestures, but those smiles and clumsy gestures were unconscious masks that I could always count on when I needed to hide something; they hadn't failed me yet.

But they had never had to face off against and angry _and_ heartbroken Sakura before. I could handle the angry, she got angry a lot, but I was still unconsciously trying to make Sakura happy again. That would probably be my downfall; _I _was the one that broke up with _her_, and it would just be bad form to go crawling back, so I did my absolute best to ignore her and my masks made it through yet another battle.

My best friends, Kiba, Shino _(who had started hanging out with us 'cause no-one else really liked him, but had quickly become part of the group), _Shikamaru, Choji, and Lee, walked up to me and sucked me into our usual formation, a half-circle surrounding our lockers _(which had miraculously been placed all together either by staff too annoyed about complaints of blocked lockers or bribery by Shino, who was very rich and a teachers' pet)_. Kiba, as per usual, started the conversation off. Some people would assume that _I _would start the conversations, but I just liked to listen to them talk.

"The Subaku siblings transferred to this school," Kiba said, clearly excited. He would be excited. Kankurou, the Subaku's middle brother, was Kiba's boyfriend, and they were the reason for my current confusion. You see, I caught them making out at a party we'd gone to and Kankurou had had a hand down Kiba's pants and was jerking him off. That was when I had discovered my attraction to gay sex, particularly between men; girls were just too squishy and they didn't have a dick.

"Yeah? They starting today?" I responded with a question because Kiba needed to vent his excitement on someone and the others either didn't care, were too reserved or lazy to _show_ that they cared, or they got _too_ excited and just kept talking _(-cough-Lee-cough-)_.

"Yeah, Kankurou got a locker on this block, too, so, yeah," Kiba was practically jumping out of his skin by now.

"So we should be expecting him, and possibly his siblings, to join our table for lunch?" That meant they were going to join our group. People ate lunch with their groups in this school, and our group was no different. In fact, since we're the misfits, it's almost required we eat together; nobody else would eat with us if they had a choice. Our conversations can get pretty strange and nobody wants to feel stupid sitting next to the genius_(Shikamaru)_, the writer_(me)_, the otaku_(Choji)_, the music geek_(Kiba)_, Shino_(he was just Shino and knower of all things)_, and Lee_(who really can't be described any other way, unless it's as a mini-Gai-sensei)_. After mixing so many different interests in together, we get weird conversations.

Kiba nodded and his grin nearly took his ears. I rolled my eyes and turned to the others. My gaze rested on Shikamaru who was looking at the three approaching figures. One was a face we knew all too well, as Kiba invited him to all of our social functions; Kankurou. He was wearing baggy jeans and a red 'Tokio Hotel' t-shirt and a black hoodie. The hood was up and there were cat ears sown on the top. That was all I was able to get from him before Kiba was there and they kissed briefly.

The second figure I saw was the little redhead to the left of Kiba's boyfriend. He looked a little scary with the tattoo on his forehead and the thick rings of eyeliner around his aquamarine eyes and the maroon trench coat he wore over his mesh shirt, black tank-top and skinny jeans clad self. The redhead rolled his eyes at his brother's PDA and continued on to his locker.

The third figure was quite obviously female; her tight cami did nothing to hide this fact, even though she wore a baggy sweat shirt. The skirt may have been a hint, too, but you can never be too sure; I knew guys that liked to dress like girls.

Out of all three of them, the only things that they had in common, visually, were the shape and coloring of their eyes _(they were all green of some shade)_, the shape of their jaws and their stances. Other than that, no-one would ever be able to tell that they were siblings. Their hair was even different; a blonde, a brunette and a redhead, in that order. Honestly, who has kids like that? Were their parents just _that_ weird? They could be a joke; a blonde, a brunette and a redhead walk into a bar…Yeah, and I'm back.

I nodded as the introductions started _(with me, but I _had_ known Kiba the longest)_ and it went around the half circle, all the others nodding their acknowledgement. "This is Naruto, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, and Lee; they're my best friends. Guys, this is Temari and Gaara. You all already know Kankurou."

Thus, our introductions ended and we all turned to our lockers to deposit the things we didn't need and withdrew the things we would, since we only had five minutes left by my watch. I was the official time keeper because our school was small enough to have no bells, and when I was sick, the others were always late; then they always got mad at me for the fault of my immune system.

The newcomers' schedules were compared to ours _(they had at least one of us in each of their classes and Shikamaru and Temari had the exact same schedule; there was definitely something between them)_ and just as we turned to leave, another new student huffed to the block to find his locker. He was obviously new and obviously late, but I pushed him out of my mind because I wasn't going to be late to Ibiki-sensei's class for a late student; Ibiki was a math Nazi and there were very strict punishments for being late for class.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

The day passed quickly and soon it was time for lunch. Our entire group never bought the school lunches, so, when we met at the entry to our rather small cafeteria, we automatically made a beeline for our table. Nobody ever took our table because it was in the very back and out of the way, but, today, there was someone sitting there. I noticed it was the kid that had been late that morning.

He looked slightly alarmed as my friends and I took our usual seats with nods and smiles in his direction, like he was afraid of having people sit near him. He'd probably been bullied or something, wherever he came from. I couldn't help but notice that he was absolutely gorgeous with pale skin and raven blue-black hair and coal black eyes. The only problem was he was too thin; his baggy 'Nightwish' shirt was almost _too_ baggy and his pants looked far too big, all held up by a tiny belt _(the kid had a really small waist, almost to the point of anorexia)_. He was getting up to leave, looking around for an empty table or and out of the way corner.

"Hey," I began, "you don't have to leave. We're not gonna bite, and we're the misfits of this school. You can hang out with us and other stuff if you want."

He looked a little timid and his eyes flicked to each of the other teens, but he slowly sat down, keeping one leg over the bench in case he needed to run. I smiled brightly at him and began the introductions, his black eyes flicked to each in turn, sizing us up, judging.

"I-I'm Sasuke," he said.

"Well, welcome to Konoha High, Sasuke," Kiba smiled at the timid teen.

Kiba said my usual line because I was busy trying to keep from embarrassing myself in front of my friends. Sasuke was gorgeous, absolutely beautiful and my body had taken this moment to make its appreciation known. I guess that settled it, then; my body had decided it was gay and now my mind just had to agree with it.

"Where did you transfer from?" Lee asked and I was brought back to the present.

"Um, I-I was homeschooled," Sasuke stuttered.

My body decided to jump at his voice and I groaned inwardly, why couldn't I just wait to think about this 'til I got home? Stupid Sasuke, confusing me more than I already was.

"Why?" I asked without thinking and he winced slightly.

"Um, I-I had some trouble with the school I-I went to before, so Kakashi offered to let me home school," Sasuke replied, nervously twiddling with his fork, pushing his food around his plate.

"Who's Kakashi?" Temari asked, digging into her food with gusto, reminding us all that it was lunch and we should probably eat.

"My guardian."

"Oh, is he cool?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, he's kinda awesome; embarrassing, but awesome," the pale teen smiled briefly, just a tiny twitch of his lips, barely there, and I doubt anyone else would have caught it, but it was a smile and it lit up his entire face. On any other person it would look like they were hiding something, trying to sound as though they liked something they didn't, but the way his face lit up, it completely changed the way he looked, and if I thought he was beautiful before, I was completely unprepared for my reaction to a simple smile. Sasuke was actually telling the truth about his foster father.

"Yeah, I have a foster father too, and he's overbearing and he freaks out about everything, but he's completely awesome and he's the only person I know that knows how to handle me except for Kiba. His name's Iruka," I said, try to keep the conversation on something that wouldn't make the new kid uncomfortable. "He makes the best lasagna ever."

There were nods all around at the last statement; Iruka _was_ a good cook and all of my friends knew it.

"Oh!" Kiba began, his entire face lighting up and a fist pounding on the table, catching us all by surprise and causing Sasuke to look over at the energetic teen in alarm, eyes wide and ready to bolt _(he settled down a little later, though)_. "Do you all remember that time Iruka caught Naruto…"

I groaned and tuned out the rest of that story. Afterwards the entire table was laughing _(except for Shikamaru, who was too lazy to laugh and just smirked, and Sasuke, but Sasuke did have to corners of his mouth upturned and his eyes were alight with mirth(pardon my writers' tendencies))_and I had to explain myself, which just made them laugh harder. The rest of lunch was spent in much the same fashion with much the same type of conversation _(sure, pick on me; I know where you all sleep)_ and soon lunch was over and we all had to go to our afternoon classes which always seemed to take longer than the morning in spite of the fact that there were less of them. Sasuke followed me to my next class and all of my afternoon classes, and I thought this whole 'being gay' thing wouldn't be so bad.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise: **__So, how'd you like it? Was the ending too abrupt? Did I make it believable? Please tell me; I like it when people tell me how to make my writing better, within reason. I hope it was enjoyable for you._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise:**__ Well, I've decided to turn this into a chaptered story. I was completely dissatisfied with the ending, and a couple of my readers were too(Leigha002, SammiZ and Bunnygoon1992), so I read it a couple of times after I posted it and I realized exactly how many holes were in here. Now I've decided I'd expand upon it. Here is Chapter 2 of __Well, Here We Go…__ and I hope you like it._

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own Naruto, or anybody else. I certainly don't own the show, so why do we keep asking? If I owned it I wouldn't be writing this._

_**Inspiration:**__ 10__th__ Grade-Joseph Weisberg_

_**Pairings:**__ I listed them in Chapter 1. If new pairings pop up, I'll let you know._

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

_Well, Here We Go… Chapter 2_

_By: Masked-Writer-In-Disguise_

It's been three weeks since we'd gotten back to school and since I met Sasuke and Gaara _(who was pretty awesome once you got passed his stoicness… Did you know he's an insomniac? He doesn't need eyeliner or shadow at all…)_, who were now completely ingrained in our friend circle. Sasuke has opened up a bit more, and it was obvious the pale teen wasn't used to social situations or having friends. My friends think it's really weird, but I understand. I hadn't had any friends before I moved in with Iruka and he forced me to go to public school. That's when I met Kiba.

Anyway, in those weeks Sasuke started coming over to my house for dinner and over weekends when his foster father, whom I had _still _not met, had to go out of town on business, and, in those three weeks, I had finally come to accept that I was attracted to those of my own sex, mainly Sasuke. Sure, sometimes I forgot about what I'd come to accept and completely freaked out _(it's not easy being gay)_; that was always fun. I haven't told anyone about my internal dilemma yet, 'cause I'm kinda scared about how everyone will take the news, and I know that that fear is completely stupid and irrational, too.

I know that because Kiba's gay and would warmly welcome me into the ranks and Iruka's calm and accepting and bi and nobody else would really care. Shino would 'hm' and adjust his sunglasses. Choji would smile and pat me on the back. Shikamaru would say something along the lines of 'I know.' Lee would go off on a spiel about me embracing my youthfulness _(he did that when Kiba came out, so that's how I know… He does that at the slightest provocation, actually…)_. Gaara would…I don't know what Gaara would do; he's kinda weird. Temari would say 'damn, I own Shikamaru money,' and Kankurou would throw his hands up in the air in a victorious gesture and scream 'yes! another fag' at the top of his lungs.

The popular people would give me hell for about a year _('cause that's what they did to Kiba before Tsunade got angry at them)_. Well, the popular people omitting Neji and Hinata Hyuuga; the Hyuuga's and I are really close and Neji's still in the closet to everybody except for his closest friends and Hinata. Sakura and Ino would plot my downfall _(I'd left her of a dude, after all)_, probably were plotting right at this moment, in fact, and everyone else was just everyone else, and I don't really give a damn about what they say or do.

And that was really all that was keeping me from admitting my feelings for Sasuke _(and they were there because some little tiny part of myself had found it and latched onto it and hid it in a box somewhere for safe keeping, just in case I needed it in the not-so-distant future (my inner self can be smart like that, sometimes))_, and it was also what was really bugging me. I, Naruto Uzumaki, was afraid of what people thought about me, and that was very un-Naruto-like of me.

Anyway, that's enough about me and my personal problems; back to Sasuke. When he come over to my house for the…fourth time _(it was a sleep over; the other three times were just for dinner)_ he asked to take a shower, so I told him he could. He was taking forever so I went up to see what was taking him so long. The shower curtain had been pulled back a bit _(the door hadn't been closed; it was opened a crack to let the steam out 'cause we didn't have a fan)_, and there were scars all over him, like someone had whipped him or something, and you could see his ribs. I don't know what happened to him, but, out of morbid curiosity, I _wanted, _and still want, to know. Does his foster father beat him? How old are those scars? Are they the reason he's in a foster home in the first place? Are they the reason he doesn't eat a lot _(although, Iruka tends to force feed him when he's over)_? Did he get kidnapped? In an accident?

I didn't say or do anything to indicate that I'd seen and simply asked him if he was OK 'cause he was taking forever. He'd said he'd be right down, so I left and I still haven't said anything about it and I probably won't 'til it becomes completely, irrevocably obvious that I've seen. Y'know, the scars are probably the reason he doesn't take gym.

So, now, I'm going over to _his_ house for the first time since we've met and I'm hoping to find out a bit more about him. Right now, all I know about him is that his favorite food is tomatoes, he's in a foster home, his foster father was a friend of his deceased uncle, Obito, he's 15 _(same as me)_, he's extremely timid due to some childhood trauma that he rarely hints at _(where _did_ those scars come from?)_, and that he likes symphonic metal music. As you can probably deduce, this is a very exciting day for me; a bed room tells a lot about a person.

School today was pretty normal; normal classes, normal lunch, same types of conversations _(I would never label our conversations as normal)_ to which Sasuke was finally contributing _(his foster dad seems awesome and completely strange at the same time; he reads porn in public…)_, uneventful, really. The last class of the day always seems to be the longest _(have you noticed this?)_ and I was just waiting for the figurative bell to ring. Sasuke was sitting next to me, doodling on his notes _(he's a pretty good artist and I've told him so; he said he knows someone better)_. The minute hand seemed to not be moving and I'd been tapping my pencil against my opened notebook for the better part of the hour _(I'd just steal notes from Shino later)_. The teacher was still droning on in the background, but I wasn't paying any attention to him at all.

I was watching Sasuke. He had strange mannerisms and they showed in the way he sat. He always looked like he was listening to something very faint and/or far away with the way his head tilted to the side. He also always sat on the edge of his seat like he was expecting to have to get up and run. He always had to do something with his hands otherwise he freaked out, so his fingers were always tapping or his leg was always shaking or he was drawing, writing, something. It was almost like he hadn't been able to move his limbs and took simple pleasure in using them. He also-

There was a flurry of movement and my thoughts were ended abruptly. I really hoped Sasuke hadn't noticed me staring; he tended to freak out about that kind of stuff. I stood up and shoved all of my stuff into my bag, following Sasuke out of the room and to our locker block shortly after. Kiba and Kankurou were already there _(almost completely had their tongues down each other's throats, too)_, discussing their weekend plans _(it was completely obvious as to what their weekend plans were, not to mention hot, but I'm not going to go there)_. I rolled my eyes and Sasuke sighed, continuing on to his locker.

I reached mine and pulled out my duffle bag _(I had no clue how I managed to get it in there and it would probably never happen again)_.

"So, how was biology?" Kiba asked, untangling himself from Kankurou.

"Um, I don't know. I wasn't paying attention," I replied with a grimace.

"Shino's not gonna be happy with you," Sasuke admonished. He was getting better at talking freely with us.

"Yeah, but he'll still give 'em to me. He's too nice to let me fail," I shrugged my bag over my shoulder and turned to Sasuke, who slammed his locker closed.

"Ready, dobe?" he asked. He'd started calling me 'dobe' after I let two completely idiotic statements out of my mouth in a row. The stories my friends told about me didn't help my case much, either.

"Yep, let's go, teme," I said. I'd started calling him 'teme' shortly after he'd given me my nickname. It'd just seemed fitting at the time, and it kinda stuck.

"We'll see ya guys later, then," Kankurou said in farewell, pulling Kiba back against his chest.

"Yeah, tell the guys 'bye' for me when/if you see them. You two try to keep it M, not X, alright?" I called to them as we walked down the hall. We exited the build to their laughter and shouts of 'as if.' Then we were outside and Sasuke scanned the cars parked out front, waiting for their student passengers to get in _(our school didn't have a bussing system)_.

"Kakashi can be late sometimes, but he tries to be on time if it's important for/to me." Coal black eyes ran over the cars. "He's not here yet."

We went to lean against the wall. There were a few moment of silence, then, "Don't Kiba and Kankurou ever get in trouble for inappropriate PDA?"

I laughed because that was the last question I'd expected to hear out of Sasuke's mouth. "Um, I'm not sure, but I don't think they do. No teachers are ever around when they're making out, and those two have this uncanny ability to know when a teacher is near. Even if they did get into trouble, Shino would get them out. He's their favorite, the teachers."

Sasuke nodded as though it were painfully obvious and turned away for a few minutes, "What's this school's policy or reaction or whatever to being gay?"

"They don't really care. Granny Tsunade doesn't like prejudiced people, thinks they're a waste of space and they usually don't last long at this school because of all the gay in the air," I replied and Sasuke laughed. He didn't laugh very often and I took a small amount of pride knowing that I was the one who'd made him smile and laugh like that. It was beautiful, his laughter.

"Wow, it's been a long time since I've heard that," a voice in front of us said.

I looked up and saw a male that looked very much like Sasuke except he was paler and his hair and eyes weren't as black and he wore a tank top with the bottom cut off to expose his well-toned midriff. His baggy pants had lots of pockets with paint brushes sticking out of the top of them.

"Um, hi?" I doubted this was Kakashi because he barely looked older than Sasuke and me, but, at this point, I wasn't sure of anything.

The man in front of us opened his mouth, but Sasuke cut him off, "Sai, shut up. Whatever you're going to say, don't. I know it's not gonna be nice." Sasuke turned to me, "This is my foster brother, Sai. Sai, this is Naruto."

My mouth formed and 'oh' shape and I looked back at Sai, who seemed to be pouting.

"I wasn't gonna be mean. I was just gonna say 'let's go because Kakashi's here.'"

"No shit," Sasuke pretended to be amazed. "You mean you don't fall out of the sky on a regular basis?"

Sai glared. "Shut up, boy. I can still take you."

And I was suddenly jealous. You see, _my_ foster brother _(of two weeks)_ was a five year old named Konohamaru. Talking to him wasn't nearly as fun as talking to someone my own age. I ignored the jealousy and picked up my bags; I wanted to meet Kakashi. Sasuke followed my lead and we both followed Sai to the car.

Whatever I'd been expecting Kakashi to be, what I saw wasn't it. He was a silver-haired man of _(maybe)_ 30 with a bandanna covering the bottom half of his face and a pair of mismatched eyes. He'd probably had to get a replacement surgery or something because one of them was an icy blue and the other was an odd red color. When he smiled at me, his eyes crinkled up to form half circle shapes and I couldn't help but smile back. He seemed very friendly.

"Hello, you must be Naruto," Kakashi said and his voice was unexpected too. He looked like he should be a tenor, but it was a low baritone, smooth and almost pretty.

I nodded and he pressed the button that would pop the trunk of the old beat up Mercedes Benz. When me and my stuff were safely in the car, the silver-haired man pulled out of the driveway and we were speeding towards Sasuke's house.

"So, how was your day today, boys?" Kakashi asked, looking at us via rear-view mirror.

"It was very normal and the last hours seemed to drag on far longer than it should," I replied. I liked Kakashi.

"That always seems to happen," Sai nodded with a slight frown on his face. "I personally think time does the whole yo-yo thing just to make us miserable…"

And thus the conversation went. Kakashi really didn't say anything else unless he was addressed directly; he just watched us quietly, sometimes smiling at what we said. It was all very comfortable and this was honestly the first time I'd ever seen Sasuke actually lounge in a seat. It was amazing. We spent the rest of the car ride in this type of meaningless chatter and before I knew it, we were at the house.

It was a normal looking, bi-level house; tan siding, blue trim, nicely manicured lawn, a little bit of a garden full of green plants lining the walkway to their blue front door. I got out and Kakashi grabbed my things from the trunk before I'd had the chance to get them myself and when I tried to get them from him, he simply placed the stuff over his own shoulder and walked towards the house, completely bypassing the walkway and taking the lawn instead. Sai followed him. I looked at Sasuke in question.

"He does that with all of our guests. I think that he was raised to completely play servant to the guests, but I'm not sure," Sasuke replied and I nodded. Iruka had a friend, Hayate, that was like that.

The inside of the house didn't match the outside. There was a different theme for every room, and they were all pretty obscure. The entry way was cluttered with various collars and leashes and shoes and coats. The dining room table and chairs looked like they'd been picked out of dumps and trash piles, but worked in this house_ (there are very few people that can pull off the mismatched table set)_. The living room didn't have a common color; the walls were splatter painted and the furniture ranged from tie-dye to a solid blue leather, the end tables looked much the same as the dining set, but it felt homey. There was a healthy layer of clutter laying about the place and a total of…one, two, three…seven dogs.

"Naruto, you'll be sleeping in Sasuke's room. I've already laid out a futon and blankets and put your stuff in there. Make yourself at home and feel free to raid the pantry if you get hungry," Kakashi gave his opening speech. "Now, it you boys need anything, I'll be in my room. I have some papers I gotta sign." He grimaced. "Don't grow up. It sucks being old." And he disappeared into what I assumed was his room.

"Um, I'll give you the tour," Sasuke said and the tour began. "This is the living room, you've already seen the dining room." We started walking. "That's the kitchen. This is Sai's bedroom and art studio. That's the bathroom, and Kakashi's room there. And this is my bedroom."

He opened to door to the room and I looked around. Sasuke was a very neat person. Everything was in its place and he bed was made, albeit a bit sloppily, and the books on his shelf were arranged by author, but not alphabetically as some people were known to do _(-cough-Shino-cough)_. There were posters on the wall featuring what I assumed to be Sasuke's favorite bands like Nightwish, Within Temptation, and Skillet. Just as Kakashi had said, there was a futon at the foot of the book case and my stuff was resting next to it.

"Wow, you can't see the floor in my room," I said as I stepped inside. I kinda stood there and looked around, feeling that awkwardness that always seems to pop up the first time you go to someone's house. Had Sasuke felt that way when he first came to my house?

"So, what do you want to do first? We have movies, the computer, X-Box 360, umm… Twister, The Game of Life…Scene It… or we could paint Sai."

I frowned at the last statement, and Sasuke clarified for me.

"Literally paint him, like paint to skin. He's weird like that, but he likes to see what other people come up with, and rather than waste canvas, we use him; canvas is expensive. Anyway, when Kakashi and I do it, we take pictures of it for him."

"That sounds like fun," I smiled. "Iruka would kill me if I let someone paint on me," I said, and Iruka _would_ be extremely angry. He'd explode all over the nice clean living room and then make me clean it up. Yes, he loved me, but that love wasn't enough to protect him from sudden and irreversible death.

"We don't have to paint on you, just Sai… Or we could paint the carpet in the hallway. We're getting it replaced soon."

So, this family was extremely artistic. I liked it. They had a very free flowing type of lifestyle, and it was new to me, but I needed structure otherwise nothing would ever get done and Iruka knew that. That was why he limited my free time.

"Um, which movies do you have?"

So, we watched movies 'til dinner; Donnie Darko, Sunshine, and half of Stage Beauty _(which was completely weird and had gay in it (blatantly obvious, too) and a cross-dressing man that played a chick onstage, but it was good so far)_. When dinner came, everybody knew it. Kakashi had been cooking a really good smelling fish for the last hour and when he was done with that and the brown rice and vegetables, he simply called out 'soup's on, so eat it.' We all followed his direction.

"I think I've finally found someone who could beat Iruka at fish," I said after a few minutes of meaningless chatter.

Kakashi smiled. "Thank you. Who's Iruka?"

"You've been letting Sasuke come over to my house without knowing my foster parent?" My brain had problems wrapping around it. Iruka always made sure he knew the parents of my friends. He did everything short of calling in a private investigator.

"Yeah, he seemed comfortable enough with you guys, so I figured it was OK. These two are usually pretty good at reading people," Kakashi explained with a shrug. He trusted his 'boys' a lot. "So, what's Iruka's last name?"

"Ah, Umino," I said off-handedly. Adults usually asked about other adults.

Unfortunately, Kakashi had taken that moment to take a drink and promptly spit it all over his plate. "Iruka Umino? Really tan, sweet guy, monstrous temper, with a scar across his nose? That Iruka Umino?"

I looked at him, startled, and nodded slowly, my suspicious gaze never leaving his face. Was this guy a creepy stalker dude?

"Wow," he let out a bark of laughter and thumped his chest, coughing slightly, "small world." When he saw my look of confusion, mirrored by the other two, he decided to explain. "We went to high school together. He never really liked me much."

"Kakashi, did you stalk him?" Sai sounded like he was scolding the other man.

The silver-haired man looked highly offended. "Me, stalk? No. I was just very persistent. Apparently, I was annoying."

We all laughed at that _(even Sasuke, much to the amazement of Kakashi and Sai) _and dinner continued on in that general fashion. Kakashi told us about all the pranks Iruka pulled back in middle school and how straight laced he was in high school. Now I know how Iruka is able to deal with me and Konohamaru without blowing up; he used to be just like us, except I still pulled pranks, just not as often as I used to. I decided that I like stories, which is probably why I like to write so much, but yeah, I liked them and I liked to listen to people tell them.

After dinner we all helped clean up. Kakashi put away the food, Sasuke washed the dishes, Sai washed off the counters and I swept 'cause I didn't want to be useless. Kakashi, Sai and Sasuke all said I didn't have to, but I thought I'd do something nice in return for the good meal and the stories. I'd have to be sure to tell Iruka about them… and Kakashi living across town, just to see what happened. When we were finished we, meaning Sasuke, Sai and me, returned to the couch in the living room to finish our movie.

By the end of our next movie, Sasuke was curled up against my chest and I had my arms around him; he didn't seem to mind that little bit of contact, so I took advantage of it _(mischievous smirk here)_. Sasuke was so small, despite his age. Sure, he was taller than me, but he didn't show it. He always seemed smaller than real life, somehow, almost like he just wanted to fade into the background, not be seen or noticed or talked to. If he had just a little more meat on him, some muscle and a more commanding attitude, he'd be the heart throb of Konoha High. Sai got up to take out the disk and Kakashi came in.

"Hey, boys, you should probably get to bed. Its 2:30 AM," the man said quietly. He looked at me and Sasuke with a slight frown, but it didn't seem to be one of anger, just confusion.

We nodded and the three of us stretched in unison, more ready for bed then we had realized. He nodded and turned back to his room, going to bed himself, but I barely noticed that. What I did notice was Sasuke rubbing, however accidentally, against my body. It was nothing, just a stretch to relieve cramped muscles, but it was touching me, and I liked it. I groaned slightly and lightly pushed Sasuke off me so I could stand and not have to feel him touching me like that, even if it was an accident.

"A'ight, I'll see y'all in the mornin'," Sai muttered as he exited the room.

Sasuke and I grunted our acknowledgement and made our own way to his room. When we got in there, we turned our backs to each other and got into out pajamas and climbed into bed. Sasuke reached to a spot on the wall next to his bed that I hadn't noticed before and turned out the lights. It was silent enough for me to hear Sasuke's breathing get deeper and even out, and I waited until he was fully asleep to let myself drift off. It was weird; I've never done that for any of my other friends. Did that mean this little think niggling at the back of my mind is way ore than simple lust or a crush?

I didn't get to answer my own question before the blackness of sleep took over.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise:**__ Well, there you have it; chapter 2 of a story that wasn't originally meant to have two chapters. What do you think? Let me know, m'kay? Please? Thanks._


	3. Chapter 3

_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise:**__ Hey, y'all! I've had this written for a while, but I was just too lazy to type it up. It's been a long couple of weeks for me, what with my no sleep and stuff. In fact, this morning I had an emotional break down and I decided to call in and take a personal day. Then I slept, and that was weird. Maybe I should become an owl. Seem to sleep better during the day, anyway…_

_**Disclaimer:**__ Don't own anything. Stop asking._

_**Inspiration:**__ 10__th__ Grade- Joseph Weisberg_

_**Pairings:**__ There will probably be hints of KakaIru later on. I just couldn't pass the chance up._

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

_Well, Here We Go… Chapter 3_

_By: Masked-Writer-In-Disguise_

Alright, here we go. Exams. Normally I would be super excited for them, except this time I haven't been getting much sleep due to a certain person with raven black hair and a timid personality invading my dreams. Needless to say, I wake up in random intervals with a hard-on, but that's beside the point. The point is that it's time for exams, in about an hour actually, and I haven't really had a chance to study due to Sasuke and his hotness…I still have no clue as to what happened to him though, and it's really bugging me to hell and back.

I haven't found anything out about his scars, but I have found out a tiny tidbit about his parents and a lot about his older brother. Apparently, Itachi was coming to visit this week. Anyway Sasuke's parents died in a plane crash when Sasuke was seven and Itachi was thirteen. Itachi and Sasuke had been separated after that because their social worker deemed Itachi too unstable to be around Sasuke _(he really hadn't been, but they, meaning the state, hadn't wanted them to stay together)_. So Sasuke had been sent to Kakashi and Itachi had been sent to a foster care home place for unstable teens where he'd met his boyfriend _(who wasn't unstable anymore; he's on meds and shit)_. Now Itachi was 21 and was coming to visit and I was going to meet him because I was staying at Sasuke's for the week _(insert happy dance here)_. 'Ruka's going out of town with Konohamaru.

Anyway, back to exams… We have Geometry today. I don't like Geometry. I don't get Geometry. In fact, I just don't get math in general, but Sasuke does. Unfortunately, they put Sasuke on the other side of the room_ (there was a noise complaint)_. So, I'm probably gonna flunk this one… Who else of my friends are in Geometry?... Kiba; no, Kiba's just as bad as me… Shino and Shikamaru are in Trig… Gaara's in Geo, and Gaara's good at it… No, I probably shouldn't cheat. I'll just bomb it. Iruka won't be happy, though; he's gonna scream at me… Ah well, it can't be helped.

"How long 'til we have to start?" Kiba asked me quietly _(the teachers were really getting on us about the noise level this year)_.

"Ah, ten minutes," I replied equally as quiet, and there was a collective groan around our table. It didn't matter how good we were in math; we all hated it. Despised it, in fact.

We all started packing up.

"Do we have assigned seats this year?" I asked.

"No, you can pick, but, since we're both in geometry, we'd have to sit at opposite ends of the table," Sasuke said as he came back to our table.

"So you don't have to sit on the other side of the room?" I was ecstatic.

"Nope, and I'm sitting here," he threw his duct taped bag onto the table end opposite me.

Kiba and Gaara got up and moved to another table, each sitting at opposite ends _(Choji and Lee were already situated at another table)_, Shikamaru stayed put _(lazy bastard) _and Shino moved to sit across from Kiba _(I think there's a little bit of a crush going on there, but I don't know how Kankurou and Kiba would react to a three-way; I think they'd all be good together though…)_. Kankurou took the seat next to Kiba _(Kanky dear was in Calc; freakishly smart man…)_, and the other students began filing into the room. Sakura _(Algebra II)_ and Ino _(Algebra I)_ sat at our table and immediately started hitting on Sasuke, who did not look amused. Joyness.

Alrighty, test time… I'm gonna fail it.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

"Gods! I swear Ibiki is trying to kill us via proofs!" Kiba whined at lunch as we all took our seats with grunts, sighs or groans. We all agreed; even those of us that were in higher levels remembered how tough that exam was.

"You should have seen the calc exam. Quit you bitchin'," Kankurou smacked his boyfriend upside the head. "You have no right to be complaining."

"I thought it was easy," Shikamaru grunted in his offhanded sort of way.

"Says the boy genius," I put in my two cents to the conversation and Sasuke and Gaara snorted. "Where's Tem?"

"She tested out of math this year, so she didn't come in today," Gaara explained in his usual quiet way.

"What exam do we have tomorrow?" Sasuke asked.

"History," Shino answered.

"Ms. Yuhi doesn't try to kill her students, so it should be fairly simple, even the AP one. Which is good, 'cause I have to take it," Kankurou smirked. Shikamaru silently agreed.

"Stupid, freakishly smart people," Choji muttered.

"That's an oxymoron," I said _(I'm in AP Lit because I like my language)_.

"Now, aren't we just special?" Kiba teased and lunch carried on in that manner and the rest of the day was spent goofing off, and coloring in Biology _(who says you can get too old to color?)_.

And it was time to go home with Sasuke. The same thing happened as last time except Sasuke seemed to be much more talkative than he usually was. Kakashi seemed to notice the change as well and smiled at him as he talked. I liked seeing Sasuke happy. Itachi should visit more often, just so I can see _this_ more often. He doesn't smile nearly enough to be healthy.

We got to the house _(there was a second car in the driveway, so I assumed in was Itachi's)_, and Kakashi took my stuff inside again. Sasuke practically bolted for the house and threw open the door. I followed at a more sedate pace and when I got to the living room, I saw two Sasuke's, except one had long hair, and they were hugging and smiling. It was both heart-warming and kind of cheesy, but I pushed that second part out of my head; these two brothers hadn't seen each other in years and they were entitled to at least one cheesy moment in their lives.

"So, where are you guys sleeping?" Sasuke asked when they released each other.

"Here, on an air mattress," Itachi replied. His voice was a smooth baritone; very pleasing to hear and he seemed like the 'okay' kind of guy.

Sasuke nodded and turned to me, "Um, Aniki, this is my best friend, Naruto."

I know my voice said something like 'it's a pleasure to meet you,' but my brain was gone. I was inwardly doing a little happy dance and dying several deaths, and all because of the words 'best friend.' It was ridiculous, I know; I was his best friend, but I didn't want to be only a best friend, I wanted to be his boyfriend and sleep with him, but that was honestly no surprise. I only hoped I wouldn't have any embarrassing dreams while I was here. That would be horrible.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. There was laughter and chores and dinner and walking the dogs _(all seven of them at the same time; that was an interesting experience)_, but that was the status quo of that household, and soon it was time to go to school.

Waking up in that house on a week day was highly interesting to say the very least. You see, three things happen simultaneously. First there are three different alarm clocks going off, all in different rooms. Then the dogs start barking and are accompanied by several thumps _(Sasuke and Sai_ always_ fall out of bed)_ and Kakashi banged on the walls as he walked down the hall, yelling, "Get up boys; Coffee in five, breakfast in ten!", and that was followed by several groans, including mine. How in the nine hells did they get away with this every morning without someone calling the police?

And that's what happened there in the morning. Exciting, no?

Sasuke looked at me and started laughing, "Good morning. There _will_ be coffee, he wasn't joking about that, so don't look at me like that."

I groaned and pushed myself up and we started getting ready for the day. That's honestly the first time I've ever gotten ready that quickly. Sasuke's family is insane. When we were ready, we went out to the kitchen for breakfast. It was your basic eggs, toast and coffee, but the eggs were delicious _(there was curry and brown sugar in them. Most people would think they wouldn't go well together, but they were awesome; very Thai)_, the toast was buttery and the coffee was very rich. Yummy, I like food.

The table was quiet until everybody'd had at least one cup of coffee in them; Kakashi was silent until his fourth, but when the caffeine was distributed, the noise level picked up considerably. Itachi and Sasuke insult each other in the morning _(its kinda funny)_, and Sai eats _a lot_; I honestly have no clue where he puts it all 'cause he's not fat at all _(he had very nice abs)_, but he eats enough to rival Choji, and that's saying something. Kakashi barely eats anything _(I think he runs on coffee for the first half of the day)_, Itachi eats like a normal person _(he's the only one that does)_, Kisame _(is Itachi's boyfriend and pale enough to look blue)_ just drank coffee and Sasuke actually ate food, and I was witnessing it! An amazing day for Sasuke!

Breakfast ended and Kakashi drove Sasuke, Sai and me to our respective schools in his loose fitting pajama pants; no shirt. Apparently he didn't like to get dressed on his days off.

The history exam was a piece of cake _(in my essay question I got to write about how stupid American's were; it was great)_, and we went home and things happened in much the same manner as the night before except Sasuke and Itachi didn't 'attack' each other in the living room.

Then, it was dark and I was laying on my futon in Sasuke's room _(apparently it was a permanent fixture in here)_, but I couldn't sleep, so I was just listening to the sounds the house made at night. The dogs snored _(did you know dogs could snore?)_, and sometimes Sai talked in his sleep, and Sasuke yelled… Wait, Sasuke yelled? I sat up quickly and looked at the bed; I couldn't see much, just a shadowy figure, but it was flailing around, like he was trying to keep something away.

I jumped up and went to the side of the bed and started to shake him.

"Sasuke? Sasuke! Wake up!" I said loudly. When he didn't I started to panic. "Kakashi! Itachi!"

There were footsteps _(quick footsteps, running footsteps)_ and thumps against the wall like someone was trying to keep their balance and the door opened, Kakashi coming in first, Itachi next, Sai and Kisame blocking the door. Kakashi climbed into the bad and lifted the boy up, holding him close and effectively restraining the flailing.

"What happened?" Itachi asked as he grabbed his little brother's hand and gently squeezed it.

"I-I don't know. It was quiet, then he seemed to say 'no.' It was really loud and it scared me," I explained. It really hadn't scared me, so much as startled me.

"Yeah, I was trying to figure out what woke me up," Kisame muttered from the door. It wasn't the bitter sort on muttering, either. It was more of the respect for silence type on muttering.

That's when Sasuke woke up and started crying. Kakashi rocked him gently and started humming, looking at Itachi as though he were trying to convey something to him telepathically. The older Uchiha brother seemed to get it because he nodded _(obviousness in itself)_, stood up and grabbed at my arm gently, leading me out of the room.

We went into the kitchen and Itachi made me some tea while I waited expectantly; I wanted to know what had made my best friend have nightmares like that. I'd bet anything that it had a lot to do with those scars.

Finally, after several minutes of silence, Itachi spoke, setting a mug of tea in front of me.

"What I'm going to tell you, Sasuke won't want publicized. He'll be angry enough at me for telling _you_, but Kakashi and I think you have the right to know. You're his best friend, after all."

I nodded in understanding and waited for the man to begin.

"A while ago, Sasuke had gone out to the book store that had been at the end of their road, and he wasn't back for dinner that night or the next. He'd been kidnapped, beaten and raped by a man named Orochimaru, who is now dead. My little brother had been missing for three weeks, and by the time the police found him, he was almost dead. Orochimaru had been a teacher at the elementary school my little brother had gone to, so Sasuke had no reason not to trust him or anything he said or did.

"Sasuke was nine when that happened and he was home schooled until he decided he wanted to try to have friends."

Itachi finished _(he'd said it all clinically, as though he were afraid to put too much emotion into it and make it more real than it already was)_ and looked at me squarely and I was sure my face would have been comical if this were a time for levity. Then I schooled my features 'cause what I'd been told was remarkably close to what I'd suspected _(even if it still surprised me; for once, I wouldn't mind not being right)_. I nodded.

"Will he be OK?" I asked.

"I don't know. As far as I know, he hasn't had a nightmare since this summer, so I don't know if he'll remember how to deal with them. When you go back in there, he may want proof that you're there," Itachi whispered and took a sip of his drink.

"So that kind of thing used to happen a lot?"

"It used to happen every night, to the point where he was afraid to sleep in his own room alone, and it gradually died down to this summer. We'd thought they'd stopped."

I nodded. "I used to have nightmares, but they were never based on anything that had actually happened to me. They were vague, but terrifying."

Itachi smiled and his eyes focused on something behind me. "Is he sleeping?"

"He wants Naruto," Kisame said, so I got up and went to Sasuke's room to find him curled up in a little ball on top of the blankets. I didn't even think about what I was doing; I climbed onto the bed and pulled Sasuke to me and got us situated under the blankets.

"C'mon, teme. We gotta get some sleep," I murmured gently and petted his hair.

He didn't respond, but he did let me stay in his bed with him, so I held him protectively and did my best to sleep with the object of my affections practically wrapped around me like a second skin. I only prayed I didn't get a boner tonight; I didn't want to freak Sasuke out anymore than he already was. Plus, that would just be embarrassing.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

The next morning I was woken up by Kakashi's gentle tap on my shoulder. I 'hmm'ed groggily and turned my face to the silver-haired man.

"I called the school and told them you two wouldn't be in today. You guys just sleep," he whispered, probably so he wouldn't wake Sasuke.

I nodded and pretended to go back to sleep, but I really didn't want to because I was holding Sasuke, and I may never get a chance like this again. Sasuke was far more frail than he seemed; it felt like he'd break if I should squeeze to tightly. He felt like he was all bones, but he wasn't 'cause there was some muscles in there, probably from walking the dogs _(they were _very_ energetic)_. Sasuke was just so tiny. I was easily 5'11", but Sasuke was _maybe_ 5'4" _(maybe)_, but he seemed so much smaller and I'm sure I've mentioned this before more than a few times.

Well, anyway, I was enjoying the moment, so we laid there for maybe three more hours. Then Sasuke started waking up. He started moving and seemed to take a few minutes to take his situation, and he froze and started shaking. I figured it was a good time to let him know it was me.

"Sasuke," I murmured, rubbing his back lightly, "it's just me."

He relaxed a little bit, but still seemed to be afraid.

"You know?" he whispered.

"Yeah," I replied 'cause I knew exactly what he was talking about.

There were a few moments of silence before Sasuke did something I'd've never thought he'd do; he broke down and cried. I think it was a relief for him to have someone to break down in front of outside his strange little family, but I'll probably never know because I was quite clearly _not_ Sasuke. He cried for about an hour before he started to breathe regularly. Then he sniffled for a bit before sitting up abruptly and looking at the alarm clock, and then back at me.

"Naruto, we have our bio exam today. Why exactly are we still here?"

"We'll have to make it up next week sometime. Kakashi called in and said we'd not be going in today."

Sasuke's mouth formed and 'oh' and he sat, listlessly starting at the comforter. He looked kinda weird; like he didn't care about anything right now. I knew I should be worried about him, but he looked really cute tight then; his hair was all sticking up in every direction, his pajama shirt was too big on him and his face was flushed and his eyes were puffy after crying. I probably shouldn't've been thinking about that, but my brain was rebellious.

I swung my legs over the bed and reached out to tug at Sasuke's arm. _("Let's go get food. You need to eat something.")_. He looked at me blankly before nodding and following me out of the bed. He looked lost right now, and I felt like I couldn't let go of his hand, so I didn't, and I led him through the house and to the kitchen where Itachi was making us some food.

"You won't tell anybody, will you?" Sasuke asked, sounding pathetic.

"No, I'm not gonna tell anyone."

He gave a weak smile and I gave a brighter one back as Itachi set two mugs of coffee on the counter in front of us.

"Did you boys sleep alright?" Itachi asked.

We nodded in unison and say down to a silent breakfast. There really wasn't anything to talk about, anyway. After breakfast, Sasuke went to take a shower and as I passed the bathroom door, I could swear I heard him crying.

When he came back to the bedroom, I was sitting on the edge of his bed and he was shirtless. He came to sit right next to me and I looked at him.

"Are you OK?"

"Do you like me?"

We both asked at the same time, and I looked at him in confusion.

"What?" I asked intelligently.

"Do you like me? Like 'want to date me,' like me?" Sasuke twisting the edge of the towel draped over his shoulders insecurely.

I looked at him quietly for a few minutes before admitting, "Yeah."

He nodded and looked up at me shyly for a second before looking back down at his lap and smiling cutely. There were a few moments of silence before he stood up and left the room, muttering something about talking to Itachi.

After he was gone, I flopped back onto the unmade bed and stared at the ceiling in shock. What the hell just happened? I just had absolutely no clue. What was going to happen next? Was I going to lose my friend?

I just laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting for Sasuke to get back, 'cause that was the only way I was ever going to find anything out.

&~o~o~o~o~o~o~&

_**Masked-Writer-In-Disguise:**__ Oh, a cliffy… kind of… Well, yeah. There's chapter three. I hope you all enjoyed it and aren't too extremely mad about the long wait. I apologize a lot… Please leave a little scrap of a review for the author. They need to eat too!_

_P.S. That little bit about stupid Americans… Yeah, being American myself, I'm aloud to say those things 'cause we are. I'm sorry if I offended other American's out there, but I just can't bring myself to care about that. _


End file.
